Henry A. Lauffer

  General Notes:

Known as the Manor Merchant. H .A. Lauffer was president of the Manor National Bank and was a director in the Irwin National Bank at the beginning of its organization. He was a member of councils.

From H.A. Lauffer's Westmoreland Counties biography:

HENRY A. LAUFFER, one of the leading and most successful merchants of Westmoreland County, was born on the Lauffer homestead, four miles north of Manor station, Penn Township, Westmoreland County, Pa., March 10, 1850, and is a son of Jacob and Susanna (Cribbs) Lauffer. His grandfather, Henry Lauffer, was a farmer, owned a woolen factory and transacted a large amount of business. He was a member of the Reformed church, an active republican, an influential citizen and died April 18th, 1873, aged 79 years, 3 months, 22 days. His father, Jacob Lauffer was born in 1822. As a farmer, he dealt extensively in livestock and real estate and acquired considerable property. He was a member of the Reformed church for many years but recently connected himself with the Lutheran church. Upon all subjects of general interest he has positive views. In political affairs he is an active republican. In 1845 in married Susanna, sister of the late Capt. George Cribbs. They had ten children, of whom three sons and five daughters are living. The two dead are: Oliver, who was accidentally shot by a companion while out hunting on December 23, 1879, and Hannah, who died April 22, 1877.

H. A. Lauffer received his education in the common schools and for some time he attended the Salem academy. He followed farming until 1876; in that year he opened a general mercantile store at Penn station where he was successfully engaged in business for seven years. In 1884 he removed to Manor where he erected his present "Mammoth Store" on North Race Street. His building is sixty feet wide by eighty feet long and three stories in height, with a large basement divided into two apartments. His assortment of goods is one of the very largest in the county and embraces dry goods, groceries, caps, boots, shoes, clothing, carpets, stoves, hardware, builders' supplies, crockery, sewer -pipe and furniture. His building is finely fitted up and admirably arranged to accommodate his large and extensive business. Every department is well equipped with its special line of goods and courteous salesmen give prompt attention to all who enter the establishment. The amount of business transacted by Mr. Lauffer now aggregates forty thousand dollars yearly.

H. A. Lauffer was united in marriage June 27, 1872 to Josephine L. Beamer, of Harrison City, eldest daughter of Henry Beamer, who is a substantial farmer of Penn Township. To this union have been born three children - two sons and one daughter: Charles, born July 27, 1875; Maud, born December 1, 1880; and Raymond, born December 11, 1883.

H. A. Lauffer is a member of manor Council, No. 716, Royal Areanum, and treasurer of the Reformed church of which he has been a useful member for many years. In political matters he has always advocated the principles of the Republican party. Mr. Lauffer is an honorable and progressive business man and is one of Westmoreland's most enterprising as he is one of her most successful merchants.

Henry married Josephine Louisa Beamer, daughter of Henry Beamer Jr. and Juliana Maria Burger, on 27 Jun 1872 in Manor, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. (Josephine Louisa Beamer was born on 2 Jun 1855 and died in 1937.)